Mocs rout non-Division I Warren Wilson, 88-36

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP/WRCB) - Ricky Taylor scored 17 points off the bench to lead four Chattanooga players in double figures in the Mocs' 88-36 rout of Warren Wilson Monday night.

Taylor, along with fellow senior Chris Early, were removed from the starting lineup after Friday's ugly loss to Kennesaw State left the Mocs at 0-3.

Former team manager Drew Baker scored 14 points in place of early, and CSAS grad Dontay Hampton added 11 while starting over Taylor. Baker and Hampton are both walk-ons.

"I have not started a game since high school," Baker said with a smile. "I really just wanted to go out there and do the same things that I do in practice. The same things that coach [John] Shulman teaches everyday. I just wanted to be solid and do the little things."

A 19-0 run broke open a 7-4 game early, giving the Mocs a 26-4 advantage at 9:02 of first half. UTC kept the pressure on to take a 45-18 lead into intermission.

Omar Wattad added 10 for the Mocs (1-3), who held the Owls to 26 percent shooting from the field (13 of 50), and allowed just one player in double figures and only six to score at all. Every UTC player who entered the game scored, and the Mocs outrebounded Warren Wilson 47-35.

"Our team came together to lock down defensively and that is what we did, which was are main objective, then everything else took care of itself," Taylor said. "(Games like this) will help this team in the long run.

"It helps our confidence and having everything come together as a team in February and March."

The United States Collegiate Athletic Association team was just the thing to end Chattanooga's losing streak, as the Mocs have only one loss to a non-Division I program since moving to that level in 1977-78. That loss came to Southern Poly, 73-69 on Dec. 16, 1999.

"I am still distraught over Friday and our performance, but we're going to get better," head coach John Shulman said. "I thought we took baby steps tonight getting better and we took baby steps this weekend to getting better. We're not there, but it does feel good to be in a decent mood after a game. I don't care who you're playing."

Rashad Ali scored 15 points and had 11 rebounds for the Owls.

Chattanooga will wrap up a four-game homestand this weekend against Savannah State (Friday) and Gardner-Webb (Sunday) at McKenzie Arena.